Merkley Pushes BMW Motorcycle Online

NEW YORK -- Merkley Newman Harty & Partners and its interactive arm, MNHi, Monday launched a Web-centric push for BMW Motorcycles' F 650 CS that features a fast-paced online commercial.

The 60-second Web spot, found at the motor bike's micro-site ( http://www.bmwf650cs.com ), opens on a job interview, where the applicant contends that, "It's rare in life that you get paid to do what you love." The spot then cuts to shots of the newly hired employee delivering pizza in a supercharged manner aboard his F 650 CS.

"We wanted to show how this bike moves," explains John Mamus, co director of MNHi. "The Web is more static than not, so having motion really helps." Merkley copywriter Mark Lowe and art director Cameron Webb crafted the spot.

Horizontal banners, supporting the effort, will run on such lifestyle and vertical sites as Maxim Online, VHI.com, Cars.com and KellyBlueBook.com. The online ads focus on a 4.9-percent financing and free Apple i-Pod offer with the purchase of the F 650 CS, good until the end of the year. For instance, one ad appearing on MTV.com says, "Hurry this deal will be over sooner than the boy-band phenomenon."

The campaign is aimed at 25- to 34-year-old, college-educated, affluent men who live and work in congested urban centers. The Web seemed the best vehicle to reach this segment, said MNHi co-director Bradley Kay, since statistics show that 58 percent of this demographic surf the Web at home; 39 percent use the Internet at work; and 25 percent have made a purchase online in the last month.

Offline components of the campaign include glossy postcards made available to dealers and mailed to subscribers of Men's Journal, Outside, Rolling Stone and National Geographic Adventure. The Web commercial will also be distributed to some dealers for use in local markets.

NEW YORK -- Merkley Newman Harty & Partners and its interactive arm, MNHi, Monday launched a Web-centric push for BMW Motorcycles' F 650 CS that features a fast-paced online commercial.

The 60-second Web spot, found at the motor bike's micro-site ( http://www.bmwf650cs.com ), opens on a job interview, where the applicant contends that, "It's rare in life that you get paid to do what you love." The spot then cuts to shots of the newly hired employee delivering pizza in a supercharged manner aboard his F 650 CS.

"We wanted to show how this bike moves," explains John Mamus, co director of MNHi. "The Web is more static than not, so having motion really helps." Merkley copywriter Mark Lowe and art director Cameron Webb crafted the spot.

Horizontal banners, supporting the effort, will run on such lifestyle and vertical sites as Maxim Online, VHI.com, Cars.com and KellyBlueBook.com. The online ads focus on a 4.9-percent financing and free Apple i-Pod offer with the purchase of the F 650 CS, good until the end of the year. For instance, one ad appearing on MTV.com says, "Hurry this deal will be over sooner than the boy-band phenomenon."

The campaign is aimed at 25- to 34-year-old, college-educated, affluent men who live and work in congested urban centers. The Web seemed the best vehicle to reach this segment, said MNHi co-director Bradley Kay, since statistics show that 58 percent of this demographic surf the Web at home; 39 percent use the Internet at work; and 25 percent have made a purchase online in the last month.

Offline components of the campaign include glossy postcards made available to dealers and mailed to subscribers of Men's Journal, Outside, Rolling Stone and National Geographic Adventure. The Web commercial will also be distributed to some dealers for use in local markets.